Power Conspiracy

by Pedro Urvi

  Egil remained impassive. Neither the threats nor the shouting seemed to be having any effect on him. Nilsa was so nervous that she had hopped backwards and stepped on Valeria’s foot. The blonde girl was watching the scene with horror on her face. Beside her, Gerd was ready to help his friend if weapons were drawn.

  “Silence, all of you!” snapped Angus.

  “It’s an insane proposal,” Esben said. “If we stop treating him and he dies, we’ll have been a pack of idiots. And we’ll have caused a great man to suffer during his last few days.”

  “Esben is right,” said Eyra. “We can’t abandon him to his fate and let him suffer until his final moment. I’d never forgive myself.” She leaned back in her armchair and covered her eyes with her hand.

  “Death by Putrefaction of the Blood without palliatives is agonizing,” Edwina said. “I can’t let you do it. I’ll stay by his side to the bitter end and ensure that he doesn’t suffer.”

  “In that case,” Egil said, “and as you want him to go on being treated, there should be nothing to stop you giving him an antidote.” Putting his hand to his Ranger’s belt, he showed them a phial containing a bluish liquid.

  Edwina and the Four Master Rangers and Angus stared at him blankly. They had not been expecting this move in the game. Egil had been leading the conversation to this point, for the sole purpose of suggesting the use of the antidote.

  “What’s this supposed to be?” Haakon asked bad-temperedly.

  “You’re not going to expect us to believe that’s an antidote for a poison that never existed?” Ivana said.

  Egil brought out a scroll, then went up to the table and left both it and the antidote on it.

  “The composition of the antidote which Ahamad Salusiaman created to heal King Leonidas. It was in an appendix to the tome belonging to the Master Archivist of Historical Knowledge. Using it, I created this antidote.”

  Angus took the scroll and read it.

  “You didn’t tell me about this small and significant detail,” he said with a look of reproach. It was obvious that he had not liked the way Egil had manipulated the situation.

  “Is it really the antidote?” Esben asked with interest.

  “It is. Ahamad Salusiaman developed it after it was established that King Leonidas had been poisoned. With this antidote, he managed to eliminate the toxin from the king’s body, enabling him to make a full recovery.”

  “I’m not buying that story,” said Haakon.

  Esben picked the scroll which Angus had left on the table and read it carefully.

  “Going by my own knowledge I can see it’s an antidote, but it’s not my area of expertise.”

  “I agree,” said Angus, “going by the basis and some of the ingredients, but like Esben, it’s not my specialty.”

  Ivana in turn picked the scroll and examined it. “Archery’s my thing,” she said when she had looked through it. “I’ve no idea what this is.”

  Angus turned to Edwina and Eyra. “It’s your area of expertise. I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

  Edwina picked the scroll and looked through it.

  “It’s an antidote, that’s its function, but against what poison or toxin I don’t know.”

  “Could it be against a poison that seems to be Putrefaction of the Blood?” Angus asked her.

  The Healer gave a slight shrug. “I couldn’t tell you. I don’t know whether such a poison exists. As I’ve said before, in the Order we’re only acquainted with illness, not with a poison that causes the same symptoms.”

  “Eyra,” Angus asked, “you’re the most knowledgeable of all of us in healing potions and antidotes. That’s your specialty. What do you think?”

  The Master Ranger examined the scroll.

  “You’re right, it’s an antidote. At least the basic ingredients are, and that’s what it seems to have been created as.”

  “Do you know which poison it might have been created for?”

  “I’m afraid not. It’s not one of the poisons I know of. It’s not one of the ones the Rangers use, that’s for sure.”

  Haakon stood up and dragged his armchair back, nearly kicking it over. “Whatever the case, who cares what poison this antidote is for? Dolbarar hasn’t been poisoned!”

  “Stay calm, Haakon,” Angus said sharply,

  Haakon was really angry by now. “I don’t understand why we’re even considering that possibility. Particularly as it comes from him!” He jabbed his finger at Egil.

  Esben frowned. “What difference does it make if it comes from him?”

  “You know perfectly well what I mean. You know who he is.”

  “He’s a Ranger,” Esben said, “and a very intelligent, determined and brave one.”

  Haakon looked directly at Egil. “He’s an Olafstone.”

  “He was an Olafstone,” Esben corrected him. “Now he’s just another Ranger.”

  “That’s true,” said Angus. “So says the Path.”

  “Well, I don’t believe his story,” Haakon said. He folded his arms and shook his head.

  Angus pointed at Haakon “Please sit down,” he said sharply. “The matter in hand is a very serious one.”

  Haakon grimaced, but sat down in silence.

  “I find it hard to believe this story of a poisoning,” Ivana said. “And I’m not only saying it because Egil was the one who brought it up. All the same ... the antidote ... it makes me wonder ...”

  “We’re all reluctant to think that someone has poisoned Dolbarar,” said Esben. “But suppose we’re wrong? And suppose he’s really been poisoned? It would be foolish on our part not to consider it. Particularly when we’ve been offered an antidote.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Angus agreed. “We don’t know whether he’s been poisoned or not. But we can’t discount the possibility when one of our own people, a Ranger, brings us proof that it could be so.”

  “Proof which might have been manipulated by a greedy King,” Haakon put in.

  “True, but even so, it sows the seeds of doubt in my mind.”

  “And in mine,” said Esben.

  “It’s part of the game he’s playing.” Haakon pointed at Egil. “Don’t fall for it. There’s no indication that Dolbarar’s been poisoned. Edwina and Eyra are experts in healing. If there’d been a poison present, they’d have found it.”

  “Whichever way,” Esben asked, “what have we got to lose if we give him the antidote?”

  “It could kill him,” Haakon fired back.

  Angus looked at Eyra and Edwina. “Could it?” he asked, strongly emphasizing the ‘could’.

  Edwina bowed her head. “With those ingredients, I don’t think so. I don’t see anything that’s dangerous to health. But it hasn’t been tested, so we can’t know for sure that it wouldn’t be bad for him. Eyra?”

  “They don’t seem to be ingredients which could cause a problem. But Dolbarar’s very debilitated, and an adverse reaction could kill him. That’s what’s worrying me. As Edwina quite rightly says, this antidote hasn’t been tested.”

  Egil went up to the table. Before anybody could stop him, he picked up the phial of antidote, unstopped it and drank a quarter of the contents.

  “What are you doing?” Haakon protested.

  “I’m proving it’s harmless. It won’t do anything adverse to Dolbarar.”

  Nilsa and Valeria exchanged glances. This was something they had not been expecting. Gerd was as white as snow.

  The situation in the Council now became very tense. Esben and Angus seemed open to considering the possibility of a poisoning and the antidote for it, following Egil’s suggestion. His last action would finally convince them – or perhaps the exact opposite. For a moment that seemed everlasting, everybody stared at him in silence. You could almost read what they were thinking on their faces. Most of them were against what he had just done. He knew this in the same way that he knew he only needed to convince one person, and that was the interim Camp leader. He, and o
nly he, had the power to allow or refuse the administration of the antidote. He was the one Egil was trying to persuade. Unfortunately, the opinion of the council would have an enormous influence on Angus’ decision. As a rule, leaders never went against the opinion of the Council, and that was exactly what Egil needed them to do.

  The implications were enormous.

  Chapter 48

  Angus took a deep breath and stared at Egil, fixing his eyes on those of the young Ranger. Egil stood firm and held his gaze. The interim leader of the Camp exhaled and lapsed into thought. There followed a long pause in which nobody said anything, and the silence which filled the room was one of deep concern, of veiled accusations.

  “As leader of the Camp I have to come to a decision in this matter,” Angus began. He fell silent again.

  Egil, who was trying to remain imperturbable, felt an icy nervousness tightening his stomach, and tried to hide it. The plan might work, but it depended on one important factor: Angus’ behavior. If he acted like the diligent, efficient leader he was, he would take one course of action. If, on the other hand, he was not what he appeared to be and had had something to do with the poisoning – or if he was not interested in saving Dolbarar so that he would be free to keep his post – then he would take a different one. Egil was prepared for both situations. Although the temporary Camp Leader did not seem to have anything to do with the poisoning, and did not give the impression of being so greedy that he would go to the extreme of letting Dolbarar die, he could never be sure.

  “We’re listening to you, Angus,” Esben encouraged him.

  Angus seemed to come out of a deep state of contemplation to focus once again on those around him.

  “I need to know your final decision. Based on that and my own, I’ll decide. The question I’m asking you is: shall we administer the antidote to Dolbarar or not? The repercussions, risks and implications have been made quite clear. I’m asking you to make your decision, bearing all this in mind.”

  “My answer is no,” Haakon said at once. “I refuse to believe he’s been poisoned.”

  “My answer is yes,” said Esben. “I don’t think the antidote will not harm him at all, as Egil has just demonstrated by taking some himself.”

  “What do the Healer and the Specialist in Nature have to say?”

  “Thank you for counting on my opinion, although I’m not a member of the Council,” said Edwina. “I don’t believe Dolbarar has been poisoned, and I don’t want to risk his taking some unknown concoction. My opinion is no.”

  “Mine is also no,” Eyra concurred. “For the reasons Edwina has explained so well. We can’t give a patient a strange compound in case it heals him, because it may well have the opposite effect, considering the delicate state he’s in.”

  “I see,” Angus said. He turned to Ivana, who was the last one left to speak.

  “I don’t think he’s been poisoned. It couldn’t have been done in the Camp on our watch. Besides, if it were so, either Eyra or Edwina would have discovered the poison, On the other hand Egil is partly right. If the antidote won’t harm him – and we’re not completely sure, but it looks as though it won’t – then we’ve got nothing to lose by giving it to him. My decision is yes.”

  Haakon glowered at her in disbelief, and when she made an ambiguous gesture, his gaze changed to one of great frustration.

  “Very well,” Angus said. “Then we have two in favor and three against, barring my own opinion.”

  Egil straightened. Nilsa and Valeria touched hands. Gerd was so pale he looked as though he were about to faint.

  “That must be no,” said Haakon, trying to influence him. “Otherwise it would imply that there’s been a poisoning under your leadership.”

  “Exactly, that’s what it would mean. That’s the doubt that’s eating away at me. Is that what’s happened? There’s only one way to find out. Denying it by closing our eyes will be no use, because that doesn’t prove it. My answer is: yes.”

  Haakon, Eyra and Edwina looked at him with expressions of enormous disappointment.

  “I can’t believe –” Haakon began.

  Angus raised his hand to stop him. “This means we have a tied vote. Three for and three against. On the other hand, my decision as leader carries more weight, and hence tilts the balance in favor of yes. My final decision, therefore, is that we give Dolbarar the antidote.”

  Haakon swore under his breath. Eyra and Edwina exchanged looks of serious concern.

  “It could be a fatal mistake,” Eyra said.

  “We won’t be able to do anything for him, he’s too weak,” Edwina pointed out.

  Angus nodded. “I understand. I can see the risk. My decision is firm.”

  Haakon’s protests became stronger. Esben countered them. Edwina and Eyra muttered about what might happen. Ivana looked at Egil with an expression which said don’t you dare disappoint me.

  “Thank goodness …” Nilsa whispered to Valeria.

  “I wasn’t expecting Ivana to change her opinion,” Valeria whispered back.

  “You know what she’s like… cold as an iceberg. She wants to find out the truth, and I don’t think Dolbarar’s death would affect her in any case.”

  “I’m sure it would affect her, even though she might not show it,” Gerd said.

  Angus silenced the whispers and protests. “Silence, everyone,” he said firmly.

  Nilsa, Valeria and Gerd fell silent at once, and the Master Rangers did the same a moment later.

  “I think it’s the best way, given the serious situation. I want to save Dolbarar as much as you do. He’s an institution and a beloved man, not only among the Rangers. I’m taking this decision with the best of intentions in my heart.”

  Egil wondered whether this was really so, or whether he was still playing some sinister game. In case that was so, he himself would stay alert. If it was proven that Dolbarar had really been poisoned, there would be a culprit, and he was not ruling out the interim leader, even though he seemed to be doing the right thing. He could be simply putting them off the scent.

  “We know that and we appreciate it,” Esben told him. “At least I do,” he added, looking at the others seated at the Council table.

  Angus rose to his feet and pointed to the antidote. “An innocent hand will give this to Dolbarar. It won’t be any of us, so that there’ll be no suspicion of foul play.”

  “I can do it myself,” Egil offered.

  Haakon rose to his feet. “No question of that!” he barked. “He’s been here during Dolbarar’s entire illness. He could perfectly well be the poisoner.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe there was one,” Esben fired back.

  “I don’t believe it, but he can’t give Dolbarar anything. I don’t trust him.”

  Angus nodded. “Thank you, Egil, but you’re too involved. It would be better if someone who hasn’t been in the Camp during all this time were to administer the antidote.” He said and stared at Nilsa, Valeria and Gerd for a while. “Nilsa will give it to him.”

  “Her?” Haakon said.

  “She’s one of the heroes who defeated the Ice Specter, and our leader Gondabar has complete trust in her. Yes, she’ll be the one who administers it.”

  Nilsa became so nervous that the color rose to her ears. “Of course, sir,” she said, and bowed slightly.

  “Take the antidote and come with me. So, there’s no suspicion of foul play, you’ll all be witnesses to this.”

  The murmurs grew around the table. Nilsa did as Angus had told her.

  “Is it really necessary for us to witness it?” Haakon asked.

  “Yes. Otherwise it might arouse suspicions which I don’t wish to have to answer to later on.”

  “We ought to be there in any case,” Eyra said, looking at Edwina. “In case he reacts badly …”

  “Of course,” Angus said.

  “I want to be present.” Esben said. He got up.

  “So do I,” said Ivana. “I don’t want anything strang
e to happen.” She too had got to her feet.

  “Very well then, let’s all go.” Angus said. “Time is of the essence.” He beckoned Nilsa, and they went up the stairs together, with Edwina and Eyra following them. After them came Ivana and Esben. Finally it was Haakon’s turn, and he went up reluctantly.

  “And what about us?” Gerd asked Valeria.

  “I don’t think we’ve been invited.”

  “Let’s go up and listen from the corridor,” Egil suggested.

  The three went upstairs and down the long corridor. Angus and the others were already inside Dolbarar’s chamber, and they stayed at the door without going in. Egil looked inside to see what was happening.

  Edwina had her hands on Dolbarar’s head on one side of the bed, and Eyra was taking his pulse on the other. Angus and Nilsa were beside Edwina, and the others were watching a little distance away from the end of the chamber.

  “How is he?” asked Angus,

  “Very weak,” Eyra said. “He barely has a pulse.”

  “I’m helping him with my healing magic,” Edwina said, “so that he has some added vitality when he takes the antidote.”

  “Fine. We’ll wait until you finish, Healer.”

  The room was dimly lit, so that Dolbarar could rest. It seemed that the dark presence of death was passing through it, awaiting the moment when it could bear away the dying man.

  For a long time Edwina imbued Dolbarar’s body with her healing magic, until she had no more inner energy left to use either to cleanse his organism from the putrefaction or to infuse more vitality into the sick man.

  “I’ve done as much as I could,” she said to Angus.

  “Thank you, Healer.” He turned to Eyra. “Is he any better?”

  “His pulse and breathing are stronger, yes.”

  “Good. In that case it’s time to give him the antidote.” He beckoned to Nilsa.

  “Shall I give it to him?” she asked with trembling hands.

  “Go ahead. Be careful, don’t spill it.”

  Nilsa took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Here goes,” she said, and very carefully she put the phial to Dolbarar’s blackened lips. She concentrated on not doing anything clumsy, and administered it very slowly. Dolbarar took it and swallowed with difficulty. Nilsa held the phial to his lips for a moment longer to make sure that all its contents were going into his mouth, then withdrew it.